We're Going To Be Okay
by Anthurak
Summary: It seemed like the ideal solution at the time. Steven and Connie couldn't face it alone, so why not face it together? Stevonnie is so much stronger than either of them. And yet, Stevonnie is still here. And really, it's not so bad. Stevonnie will keep them safe for as long as they have to so Steven and Connie can take as long as they need to. They just need some more time... Right?
1. Just Another Day At the Beach

It was just another average Saturday morning in Beach City, Delmarva. The sun was shining, the birds were shining, the restaurants on the boardwalk were getting ready for any lunch-time customers, and there was a battle with a giant monster raging on the beach.

All told, a fairly average day.

The monster was bounding up the beach that ran along that massive ridge with the giant statue, kicking up sand as it stomped the ground repeatedly. It was a bit bigger than average for these kinds of monsters, about the size of a large truck and colored an off-green and starchy white. It charged along the beach on six legs, headed for the end of the peninsula.

At least it was until a pair of rocket-powered fists smashed into its face.

Recalling her weapons, Garnet leapt at the gem monster, taking advantage of its dazed state to grip the two large tusks growing out of the monster's face. Gritting her teeth slightly, the Crystal Gem gave a massive heave. The monster was just a bit too heavy for her to throw, but Garnet was able to flip the monster onto its side.

"Pearl! Amethyst!" Garnet called out.

In response, two figures leapt high into the air, descending on the monster.

Pearl had her spear fully extended, angled downward to hit her target with maximum force. Amethyst had shifted into her Purple Puma form, falling with her knees tucked in. Both Gems impacted with enough force to crater bedrock. However, the Gem monster was merely put in a large amount of pain.

A short distance away from the ongoing battle was a large rock jutting out from the sand. Crouched behind those rocks were two boys whose hair bore an uncanny resemblance to the French fries their family prided themselves on.

"Come on, Ron. Let's go already. We have to get back to the shop." Peedee Fryman groaned in annoyance to his older brother, who was currently almost halfway over the rock in an attempt to get a better view with his camera.

"Silence little brother! Do you even have an inkling of how often an opportunity likes this comes aroun-GAH!" Renaldo Fryman made a fairly sad attempt to sound dramatic before he pulled his body passed half-way over the rock, at which point gravity took over and sent him down the front of the rock to faceplant into the sand.

"Yeah. I'd say about once a week." Peedee drawled as he walked around the rock, looking quite annoyed as he took in his brother getting up on his hands and knees to continue filming. "Now come on. Dad needs the fry oil we left at the Big Donut." Though even as he groaned at his brother's antics, Peedee made sure to cast a glance towards the ongoing battle.

He might be annoyed at his brother electing to drop everything and charge off to document this fight as soon as he heard it start five minutes ago, but Peedee was also quite wary of the situation. Sure, weird stuff like this happened with such frequency that the people of Beach City barely raised an eyebrow at it, but Peedee was under no illusions that this meant stuff like this was nothing to worry about. Unlike his brother, who seemed to possess the survival instincts of a lemming, Peedee knew full well that these monsters were dangerous with a capital D, and the best thing to do was simply stay back as far as you could and let the Gems handle it.

"But I must document as much as possible! Who knows what could become relev-Hey give that back!" Renaldo went from 'dramatic' to 'pouty' in one second flat as Peedee yanked the camera away from him.

"I kinda doubt you're missing much, considering the fight's over." Peedee gestured over to the monster, which was now on its side, its legs trussed up in Amethyst's whip. The purple Gem was gingerly poking the monster's underbelly while Pearl stood on top of the monster, poking it's scaly hide with her spear. Garnet stood nearby with her arms crossed, kinda like she was waiting for something now that Peedee thought about it.

Then the monster roared. Roared like no creature Peedee had ever heard before. It sounded like the roar of a hurricane. And just like a mass of hundred mile-per-hour winds, the monster sent the three Gems flying.

Renaldo gave a loud whoop of excitement, which Peedee thought sounded more like a dying, beached whale than anything else. "Ohmygosh! I've never seen a move like that before! Peedee, gimme' the camera! Peedee?" Peedee wasn't answering, instead staring at the monster. Renaldo turned back to look at the monster.

The monster that was currently looking directly at the two fry boys. The monster that was looking none too happy.

The small part of Peedee's mind that was not paralyzed with fear came to the conclusion that the monster really didn't like the sound of a dying, beached whale.

The monster snorted. Then it charged.

The brothers started screaming.

As futile an attempt as it might be, Peedee thought he'd have at least tried to run. But somehow, his feet were rooted in the sand. That, and his brother was clinging to him, screaming/sobbing.

' _This is it. I'm going to die.'_ Peedee thought as his eyes scrunched shut. _'I'm going to get ripped apart by a giant monster because my idiot brother couldn't stop stalking the weird alien ladies.'_

Somehow, he always knew that was how it was going to end.

The gem monster charged the two fry boys at full speed… and ran headlong into a translucent pink wall.

Peedee, realizing that he and his brother were in fact _not_ being gored by a horrible monster, stopped screaming and opened his eyes to see their rescuer.

A massive pink shield held on their left arm, an equally massive and equally pink sword held in their right hand, standing almost a full head taller than his older brother, long, dark and poofy hair that waved about in the ocean breeze, wearing tennis shoes, jeans and a red, yellow-star-marked T-shirt that seemed just a bit too small for them.

Stevonnie let loose a battle cry as they gave a mighty shove with their shield, sending the monster flying.

"You two okay?" Given a momentary reprieve, they turned to check on their two friends.

"Yeah. We're o…" Peedee trailed off as he noticed his older brother didn't seem to realize that they had been rescued and was still screaming/crying/whimpering.

"Uh, we're _going to be_ okay."

Stevonnie gave a small smile before turning to see the monster getting back to her feet where it landed some distance away. Right, Serious Time.

"Get out of here. I got this."

"Right." Peedee got up and with strength that belied his small frame, pulled his older brother to his feet and began leading him away.

Knowing that there were no longer any distractions, Stevonnie could focus fully on the monster. They'd actually been observing the fight so far. Stevonnie was still pretty new at this and they wanted to get a good analysis on what they were facing.

 _Highly aggressive. Prefers using claws for close-range swipe attacks and using horns for charges. Has a tendency to use a leaping attack mid-charge when angered._

 _Heavily armored on the back, face and along the tail. Might be too thick for the sword, considering Garnet and Pearl weren't able to punch through it. The belly however…_

Stevonnie's lips curled into a smirk. They had a plan.

Dismissing the shield, they held their left hand up as the monster face towards them.

"Heeerree Kitty Kitty Kitty…" Stevonnie made a 'come at me' gesture with their hand along with a fair approximation of Amethyst's most annoying taunt voice.

The monster growled, then snorted as she padded her front feet on the sand.

 _And that means she's angry. Perfect._

With that thought, Stevonnie gripped their sword with both hands.

The monster charged, and Stevonnie charged right back at her.

In what seemed like just a moment after she started running, the monster suddenly leapt into the air. Claws outstretched and horns pointed downwards, she was poised to land directly on top of the strange gem.

Or at least she would have if Stevonnie continued forward at their current velocity.

 _Gotcha!_

And with their next step, Stevonnie shot forward in a blur, easily five times faster than they had been running, with their sword held high.

Passing directly underneath the monster, the sword cut a line perfectly down the middle of her unprotected belly.

The monster exploded into a cloud of smoke, with nothing more than a gemstone dropping onto the sand.

With a flick of their wrist and arm, Stevonnie returned the sword to its scabbard on their back. Turning around, they knelt down, reaching for the green gemstone on the sand, a translucent pink bubble appearing around it as their hand approached.

Stevonnie brought the bubbled gem up to look at it for a moment before it vanished, sent off to the Temple for safe-keeping.

They let out a long breath as they stood back up.

Stevonnie proceeded to squee and do a little dance.

"Oh man, that was so COOL!"

A purple blur smacked into them.

"You're dang right that was cool!" Amethyst grinned as she hung off of Stevonnie's shoulders. "Actually, no. That wasn't cool. That was AWESOME!" Her grin only widened.

Stevonnie grinned back as they continued their little dance, Amethyst bouncing around in tune on their back. Stevonnie remembered how Amethyst would celebrate with Steven after a successful fight, sometimes dancing around or Amethyst tossing Steven up into the air. Since Stevonnie was about twice Amethyst's size, the purple Gem changed up that routine. Now Amethyst tended to glomp Stevonnie and hang off of them like an excitable spider-monkey while Stevonnie would do a little victory dance.

"Yes, that was very impressive. Nicely done Stevonnie." Pearl said as she and Garnet walked up. The pale Gem started to move her hand up towards Stevonnie's head, before correcting herself and giving them a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. Pearl's so used to giving both Steven and Connie affectionate pats on the head, she occasionally forgot that Stevonnie is taller than her.

"We knew you could do it." Garnet on the other hand remained the tallest member of the team, so she could still give Stevonnie a congratulatory ruffling of the hair.

"Thanks guys." Stevonnie grinned back, basking in the thrill of a victory and the appreciation of their friends. They'd developed a real appreciation for these emotional highs. They needed all they could get these days…

"Well then!" Pearl clapped her hands together, "Now that we got this little errand taken care of, we should probably be heading back to the barn. That drill's not going to finish itself."

"Yeah," Stevonnie replied, remembering the bigger job they were part of, "wonder if Peridot's gotten lonely without us."

"HA! No way!" Amethyst spoke up from Stevonnie's back, "I found another season of that Camp show in my pile yesterday. Gave it to Peri last night. She probably hasn't even noticed we're gone!"

"Heh. I wonder if she's working on another flow chart on how 'compatible' Percy and Pierre are." Stevonnie chuckled.

"Knowing her, she probably has an entire presentation ready for us at this point." Pearl sounded simultaneously annoyed and amused at the ex-Homeworld Gem's newfound obsession with a Canadian Soap Opera.

"Stevonnie," Garnet said as the group turned to head up the beach, "did you get everything you wanted?" the taller fusion asked the shorter fusion with a 'I know you forgot something, but I'm phrasing this reminder as a question so you don't feel bad' look.

"Gah!" Stevonnie snapped their fingers in realization, "I forgot the doughnuts! Be right back!" They charged off down the beach to where they dropped their backpack full of doughnuts, pastries and a couple other foods they'd gotten during this little errand. They slowed as their realized something else.

"Uh, Amethyst," Stevonnie glanced over their shoulder, "I'm going to need my back er… back."

"Hey man, don't sweat it," Amethyst replied, "I got this." Stevonnie noticed that at some point, the two purple arms gripping their shoulders had become two purple straps. Craning their neck further, Stevonnie could see that Amethyst had shapeshifted herself in a fairly good imitation of their beloved Cheeseburger Backpack.

"See? Don't worry about it! Just dump all that food in here and I'll keep it nice and safe." The Amethyst-pack opened the 'zipper' part of herself. A part that was pretty obviously also her mouth.

Stevonnie said nothing and just raised an eyebrow.

"Ehhh?" Amethyst tried very hard to speak without moving her mouth too much.

Stevonnie looked back.

"Ehhh?" Amethyst tried again.

Stevonnie just looked back, making it clear they weren't buying it.

"Eh. Guess it was worth a shot." Amethyst grumbled as she reverted back to normal, dropping to the ground.

Stevonnie couldn't hold back the chuckles anymore.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, I think Steven _might_ have fallen for that one." They gave Amethyst an apologetic pat on the head.

"Well I guess I'll have to remember to try it on him when he gets back."

But as Amethyst spoke, she sent Stevonnie a look. A questioning look. Not an accusatory look or a judgmental look. Just a look that conveyed a simple, unspoken question.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll fall for it." Stevonnie replied, giving Amethyst a look they hoped answered that question.

That yes, Amethyst _would_ be able to try that prank on Steven.

He just needed some more time.

* * *

AN:

What? Were you expecting answer up front? Now where's the fun in that? :D

For a while now, I've been very intrigued by the idea of Perma-fused Stevonnie. We hardly ever see them as their own character, rather than just as extension of Steven and Connie, so I'm excited to explore just what kind of distinct personality Stevonnie could have, and what effect their presence could have on events going forward.

The other big idea driving this story is the concept of two characters staying fused because they NEED to for some reason. As you can probably guess, the situation is quite a bit more complicated than just Steven and Connie deciding they really like being fused and wanting to stay that way.

And yes, this story is starting sometime between 'Log Date 7 15 2' and 'Super Watermelon Island'.


	2. Insanity, Malice and Salvation: Part 1

Sleeping was always an interesting experience for Stevonnie.

The first time they'd tried it, Stevonnie fully expected that it wouldn't be _them_ that woke back up. After all, Steven and Connie had never been able to maintain fusion for more than a few hours at a time. How were they supposed to stay together through the whole night without being able to focus? No, Steven and Connie would unfuse and things would go back to… normal.

But nope. After a few weird visions of Dog-Coptor riding Archimicarus riding Lion into battle against a giant two-headed monster that had the heads of Lars and Renaldo for some reason, Stevonnie had woken up in that bed of Steven's that was a bit too small for them.

That was the point when Stevonnie realized this was going to take a while.

Obviously, sleeping wasn't a problem for Stevonnie. Fusion they might be, but they were still as human as Steven and Connie were. Though, Steven was 50% Gem and 50% human, and Connie was 100% human, so did that make Stevonnie 75% Human and 25% Gem? Or was the conversion even one-to-one? The point was, sleep came to Stevonnie just as easily as it did to Steven and Connie.

But that didn't mean there weren't any differences. There were plenty of times Stevonnie went to bed wondering if it wouldn't be _them_ waking back up. Perhaps, more than a few times _hoping_ …

And of course, there were the dreams. It seemed like Steven's and Connie's subconscious's melded in some fairly… interesting ways. At first it was rocky. Dreams that were random, chaotic and… painful. But after a while, it seemed Stevonnie's subconscious finally settled down. Still, that didn't mean their dreams weren't pretty weird sometimes.

Such as their current dream, where they were a Watermelon.

And not a normal watermelon either. This was a watermelon with arms and legs and a face. And there were other melons with arms and legs and faces.

They lived in a watermelon village, with watermelon children, and watermelon dogs and watermelon horses, but, oddly enough, no watermelon buildings.

Stevonnie was starting to wonder if Lars had practiced proper hygiene before making that latest batch of doughnuts they bought.

Then they noticed that in the center of the watermelon village was a big watermelon statue that looked kinda like Steven.

Wait, so where these supposed to be those sentient watermelons Steven had accidentally created a while back?

And was it their imagination, or was the ground shaking?

It was then that Stevonnie noticed that all the Sentient Melons (Melon-Stevens?) seemed to be heading for the big statue. Stevonnie found themself being drawn to join them.

As the Melon-Stevens (yeah, that worked) gathered in a circle around the statue, Stevonnie saw one Melon that stood at the foot of the statue. It was dressed in robes and hat of some kind and had a staff. It also looked… old… somehow.

Okay seriously, Stevonnie had to stop and think about how that was even possible. It hadn't even been a year since Steven made these guys. Wait, had it been a year? Stevonnie knew it had been sometime after Steven first met Lapis… and sometime before Steven and Connie fused and formed them for the first time… Maybe it had been a year after all? Ahgh! That didn't matter! The point was that it had only been ABOUT a year since these guys were made. How was one of them this _old?_ Did that imply something about how long these guys lived? Was Stevonnie looking at the fourth or fifth generation of Melon-Stevens? And was it just them, or were there a lot less Melon-Stevens here than the horde that left Beach City?

It was then that Stevonnie realized that all the other Melon-Stevens (Ste-melons? Stev-lons? Melvens?) were all pointing at their own noses. Stevonnie was wondering if they should be doing that as well when the Old Melven pointed her staff at them. And then all the other Melvens were looking at Stevonnie too.

So… did that mean Stevonnie was the chosen one?

The Melvens grabbed Stevonnie and lead them away. At this point, Stevonnie decided it was probably best to stop questioning the logic of what was going on. This was a dream after all.

After several long rituals that somehow seemed based on Steven's daily activities, including having a yellow star painted on their chest, Stevonnie found their melon-form placed on a decorative chair and carried off by several Melvens to an unknown destination.

The parade of Melvens walked for some distance through a dense jungle. The jungle actually looked kinda familiar to Stevonnie. In fact, this whole place was starting to look like Mask Island the more Stevonnie thought about it.

After a while, the procession arrived at a clearing on the edge of a cliff, then helped Stevonnie off the chair.

The other Melon-Stevens promptly ran off, leaving them on the cliff-edge. Stevonnie had to wonder just what was going on. Were the other melons expecting Stevonnie to jump off the cliff, or were they being offered up as some kind of hum-er, melon sacrifice to some terrible creature?

That was when the ground started to shake again, sending Stevonnie's melon form tumbling to the ground. Crawling to the cliff's edge, they looked down at the ocean below. The water churned angrily, and they could make out a great dark shadow rising up from beneath the waves.

Ah, melon sacrifice then.

Getting to their melon feet, Stevonnie backed away from the edge. They wondered just what kind of weird monster would rise up from the cliff. Maybe it would be a giant Lion, or Mister Smiley, or Mayor Dewey, or a giant Lion with Mister Smiley's face with Mayor Dewey's head for a nose?

The shape that revealed itself was none of these things.

All of Stevonnie's thoughts froze as they saw the figure that rose from behind the cliff. The long, wild mane of bleached-white hair, the pale-green skin, the watery chains binding her arms, the four angry looking eyes, and the four-sided gemstone set where her nose should be.

Suddenly everything in the dream came into sharp, stark focus, and Stevonnie came to a chilling realization.

 _This wasn't a dream._

Then everything went black.

* * *

Stevonnie gasped as their eyes flew open, flinging themself up from the ground. Their breathing was heavy, and they could feel the cold sweat on their skin.

Then the ground shook.

"It's happening!" a shrill voice shouted.

Stevonnie continued breathing heavily as they took in their surroundings. They were still at the barn, it was morning. Dimly, Stevonnie was aware that Peridot was freaking out about the Cluster awakening, the diminutive green Gem explaining various signs and stages to Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl.

Then the ground shook again, just like it had done in Stevonnie's dream.

No… not a dream. Stevonnie finally cleared the last of the cobwebs from their mind, and was able to put together _exactly_ what just happened.

"We need to drill, and we need to drill no-!"

"It's not the Cluster!" Stevonnie spoke up, interrupting Peridot as they got to their feet.

"Stevonnie?" Pearl said as she and the other Gems noticed that the fusion was awake. "What is it?"

Stevonnie took a breath as they steadied themself. There really wasn't an easy way to put this.

"It's Malachite."

"MALACHITE?!" the three Crystal Gems gasped, as ones who knew exactly how dangerous this was.

"Malachite?" Peridot asked, as someone who had no idea what was going on.

"While I was asleep, I accidentally possessed one of those sentient watermelons Steven made last year. I… guess I can do that now." Stevonnie explained. "They're on Mask Island. And so is Malachite."

"Oh no." Pearl breathed out, her hands over her mouth.

"This isn't good," Garnet grit her teeth as she spoke, "if Malachite's on the surface, then Lapis Lazuli must have lost control, and that means Jasper has taken over."

"Stevonnie," Pearl asked, "could you tell anything about what Malachite was doing?"

"I… couldn't see much before I lost the connection…" Stevonnie thought carefully about what they had seen in their vision, "but I think she was still kinda tied up. I don't think she was moving anywhere."

"Hmm. Then Jasper probably hasn't gained full control yet." Garnet thought out loud. "We still have time."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Amethyst smacked her fist into her palm. "Let's go kick some evil fusion ass!"

Garnet and Pearl nodded in agreement to the smaller Gem.

"Sounds good to me." Stevonnie agreed as they slung Rose's sword over their shoulder. "Let's go."

"No."

"Huh?" Stevonnie asked at Garnet's statement.

"You're not coming with us Stevonnie. We need you stay here with Peridot and watch the drill." Garnet spoke in a tone that said there was no arguing with it.

"No." Just as Stevonnie spoke with an equally unarguable tone.

"I'm not sitting this fight out you guys. I'm going with you."

Stevonnie's declaration took all three Gems off guard. This wasn't Steven pouting about not being able to go on adventures. Stevonnie's tone and determined look made it clear they would _not_ be taking 'no' for an answer. It took a moment for the other Gems to recover.

"Stevonnie… I know you've gotten stronger, but this…" Pearl tried to explain, turning to Garnet for help. The taller Gem put a hand on Stevonnie's shoulder.

"This isn't about you being strong enough. It's very likely the three of us will need to fuse to defeat Malachite. I'm sorry Stevonnie, but there just isn't a lot you can do to help-"

"Yes there is!" Stevonnie spoke up, shrugging Garnet's hand off their shoulder.

"I know I can't help you fight Malachite _directly_ , but remember when Steven was able to talk to Lapis inside Malachite? Well maybe I can do it again! If I can get inside Malachite's head, then I can find Lapis and she can help us!"

The three Gems looked to each other with some amount of surprise. After a moment, Pearl spoke up again.

"Stevonnie, didn't y- Didn't Steven tell us that Lapis was fighting to keep Jasper contained? If Malachite's loose, that would mean Jasper managed to take control, and wouldn't that mean Lapis is… Would she really be able to help us?"

"And after everything we've been through, would she really _want_ to help us?" Amethyst asked aloud.

"The _only_ reason she fused with Jasper in the first place was to protect _Steven!_ Trust me, I can get her to help us!" Stevonnie declared in response, their face set in determination.

Pearl and Amethyst stared for a moment, before turning to Garnet. The taller Gem was silent, one hand stroking her chin in deliberation as she gazed into multiple possible futures.

Finally, she smiled.

"Malachite is going to be more powerful than anything we've faced in a _long_ time, so I think we could use all the help we can get."

"Garnet, are you sure?" Pearl spoke, questioning, but still deferential, "You just said Malachite's the most powerful thing we've had to fight in a while. I know Stevonnie's come a long way, but…"

"It's like Stevonnie just said. They won't be fighting directly. And if they can get Lapis Lazuli to help, she may be able to destabilize Malachite from within. At the very least, she could split Jasper's attention and make our job easier."

"Pearl." Stevonnie said, drawing the gem's attention, "I'm going to be okay. Trust me," they said with a smile.

Pearl sighed, before returning the smile and nodding.

"Alright then, if we're all agreed…" Garnet started before raising her hand,

"Crystal Gems! To the nearest warp pad!"

"Yeah!"

* * *

AN:

To be honest, I've never been all that happy with how the Crewniverse handled the fight against Malachite. Sure, having Alexandrite fight her is pretty awesome, but Steven's contribution never fully sat right with me. After Chille Tied, I was positive that Steven would be using these telepathic abilities to help fight Malachite from the inside while the Gems fought her from the outside. But instead we got Melon-Stevens pulling an Ewoks stunt, which is... okay, but nowhere near as interesting as it could have been. So this is my take on it.

Next chapter, things get intense. REALLY intense.


	3. Insanity, Malice and Salvation: Part 2

"That doesn't look good."

None of the other Gems could disagree with Amethyst's assessment.

Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Stevonnie stood on the edge of the woods overlooking the beach a short distance from the Mask Island warp pad. They had an excellent view of the ocean, and what was in it.

About a half-mile offshore was a churning, chaotic mass of water and vapor. The whole thing looked a raging storm condensed into a small area. Partially visible within the swirling mass was a green, multi-armed figure fighting and thrashing at the watery chains that bound her.

At first, the presence of those chains gave Stevonnie some hope. That they meant Lapis was still fighting. But Stevonnie quickly corrected themself. If Jasper had managed to pull Malachite all the way to the surface, then this was a battle Lapis had already lost. It was only a matter of time before Jasper assumed complete control of Malachite.

It seemed so strange to think of a fusion like that. That the two people that made up the fusion were fighting each other for control. In fact, it didn't feel strange, it felt _unnatural_. It felt WRONG.

The very idea that one person could be 'in control' of the fusion, while the other person was not… Nothing about that was right. Fusion was supposed to be two (or more) people working together, united in purpose and form, a kind of cooperation like no other. This… _thing_ went against the very concept of fusion.

And there was something else. Something that unsettled Stevonnie most of all. If it was either 'Lapis' or 'Jasper' that was in control, where did that leave Malachite herself? Or did this fusion even _have_ an identity all her own? Was there even _a_ 'Malachite' at all? The idea that a new person could be formed out of all that rage and hatred, and what that person would be like…

Stevonnie suddenly felt sick.

"Stevonnie?" Pearl's voice broke Stevonnie out of their thoughts, her hand gently resting on their arm, giving them a look of concern.

"You okay dude?" Amethyst spoke up, a similar look of concern on her face too.

Stevonnie felt themself breathing heavily. Then they noticed Garnet. The taller Gem was not giving them a look of concern, but a small, sad smile. It was a look of understanding. A look that told Stevonnie that the other fusion had been thinking the same thing they were.

Stevonnie took a deep breath, and felt the sickly feeling fade.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Alright, let's do this." Garnet announced, "Stevonnie, we'll engage Malachite directly. You find someplace safe to do your thing."

Stevonnie nodded in affirmation to the taller fusion.

"Pearl. Amethyst." The two nodded to Garnet, and the three moved out onto the beach, standing a distance away from each other as they prepared to fuse.

A minute later, the monstrous, six-armed form of Alexandrite towered over the beach, standing just as tall, if not a little taller, than even Malachite. The sight alone made Stevonnie give out a low whistle. They'd forgotten just how _big_ the three-way fusion was.

Which just happened to coincide with Malachite finally breaking free of her watery bonds.

"MALACHITE!" Alexandrite roared as she charged off into the ocean to battle the corrupted fusion. It all reminded Stevonnie of some of those Japanese monster movies Steven and Connie had watched.

While the prospect of watching a full-on Kaiju battle was tempting, there was still work to be done.

Stevonnie quickly made their way to a nearby bluff overlooking the sea and took a seat in the grass, their legs crossed and hands resting interlaced in their lap. It was a meditation pose that Connie had seen on TV once and it seemed more fitting than just lying on their back. Stevonnie took a deep breath, closed their eyes, and focused.

Now how was this supposed to work again?

Okay, so Steven and themself had only done this before completely by accident, plus he and they had been completely asleep both times too. Now sleep wasn't exactly an option right now with the giant Kaiju battle going on nearby, but if they could remember the exact feeling of what happened, Stevonnie could analyze and extrapolate that feeling to replicate the event.

Maybe. Somehow.

Stevonnie took another deep breath as they dived into Steven's memories. It was… difficult at first, some… resistance, but Lapis was in trouble so they got past the rough spots fast enough.

The dream Steven had on that night was hard to remember, but there was definitely a feeling of flying, of weightlessness. Stevonnie focused on that. Focused more and more until…

There!

It was sort of like those times Connie would doze off in class, daydreaming about magical adventures. They weren't _asleep_ exactly, but the sounds and feelings of the world around them were suddenly more distant, muted. Instead, Stevonnie felt like they were floating, surrounded by many tiny strands. Curious, Stevonnie brushed up against one of those strands. They felt themself being drawn in, the strand feeling very familiar, it was sort of like…

What they felt earlier that morning! This was one of the Watermelon Stevens!

Stevonnie willed themself to pull away from the strand. This wasn't who they were aiming for, but it was still a good sign. All those strands around them must be all the melon-Stevens on the island. Okay, that was progress, but how were they supposed to find Lapis?

Stevonnie could feel other strands brushing up against them. That wouldn't do, they needed to get into Lapis's head, not one of these guys. Stevonnie tried to will themself to float higher, away from those strands. Instead, it felt like there were more stands now, all identical to the others. A little frustrated, Stevonnie tried again. Now there weren't any more stands, but now they felt some kind of void around them…

Oh. OH! That was it! They weren't floating _up_ , they were going _out_ , expanding their awareness. All those strands must be where all the Melon-Stevens were concentrated, and the void was the uninhabited area of the island around them! So if Stevonnie expanded further than maybe…

There! Stevonnie could sense two massive strands, out some distance away from the smaller ones. Alexandrite and Malachite. So which one was which? Stevonnie lightly brushed up against both of them. This was _much_ different from the smaller strands, they could actually get concrete feelings just from a light touch.

One felt… united, determined, focused. Probably Alexandrite.

The other felt… chaotic. Scared, angry, saddened, desperate, enraged, vengeful, terrified…

' _Yep,'_ Stevonnie thought sardonically. ' _Definitely Malachite.'_

With that, Stevonnie focused entirely on that strand. Remembering that exact feeling Steven felt when he encountered Lapis. They focused more and more…

Until everything went black.

* * *

Stevonnie's eyes snapped open. This was… _definitely_ different.

When Steven made contact with Lapis, he had sort of… wandered in. Unknowingly drifted from his dream into her head. This time was much more defined. One moment it had been as though Stevonnie was daydreaming. They were aware of all this nebulous… stuff, but they were still grounded in reality. This on the other hand felt like the dream of a very deep sleep. But everything was very clear, brought into very sharp focus.

Just like the last time Steven was here.

Everything certainly looked very much the same. It was a massive dark space, tinted by a sickly green glow coming from the floor. The floor itself was water, but water you could stand on.

Even so, it seemed like a few things were different to Stevonnie. For one, everything looked darker somehow. And it felt different. There was a pressure coming down on them from all around, like they were underwater but didn't feel wet.

Stevonnie got up on one knee, their hand running over the water-like surface, examining it. Something about it looked off… Stevonnie remembered where they recognized it from. The times Steven had been swimming in the ocean and had looked up from underwater. This was what the surface of water looked like from below!

Stevonnie had a flash of realization, remembering what this place was like the last time Steven was here. He had definitely been on the surface that time, along with Lapis. Lapis had chains around her hands that were pulling her underwater, and she was fighting to stay up. And when she had been briefly pulled under… Jasper had come up in her place. And if Jasper was in control now, then that meant…

Stevonnie jumped to their feet. They needed to find Lapis.

"Lapis!" they called out, "Lapis! Can you hear me?! Where are you?!"

Stevonnie started running around, more out of a simple sense of urgency than thinking it would help. This place was bare of any landmarks, and it seemed to stretch on forever. Also, moving around was… different. The air felt heavier, thicker, and when Stevonnie was looking around, they noticed their hair floating up all around them. The same way it did when they were underwater. It was definitely all _very_ strange. If Stevonnie wasn't so laser-focused on finding Lapis, they might have become disoriented.

Suddenly, Stevonnie stumbled as the water they were running on shook for a moment.

Actually, it wasn't just the surface they were standing on. If felt like _everything_ had just shaken. Like a deep rumbling emanating from the depths all around them. It was a little unsettling.

Then Stevonnie's vision suddenly doubled. It was as if they were seeing the bleak, unnatural expanse of Malachite's mind in the right eye, and ocean off of Mask Island in the left eye. Then they blinked and the effect was reversed.

Stevonnie grit their teeth, trying to focus. Something was interfering with their link to Malachite. Stevonnie felt a shiver go down their spine as they considered the possibilities. Could Jasper, or maybe even Malachite herself be aware of their presence and actually be trying to kick them out of her head?

Then the rumbling happened again. It _wasn't_ coming from the mindscape. Stevonnie felt the rumbling on their physical body. That was a little reassuring. Stevonnie redoubled their efforts, focusing on the image of Malachite's mind.

Fully back in Malachite's mental world, Stevonnie found themself breathing a bit heavier from the effort. They reflected on what they had seen right before the outside world faded from sight, and the battle happening offshore. At Alexandrite struggling desperately at the watery chains that had once bound Malachite.

Stevonnie continued running. They needed to find Lapis, and _fast_.

Then, they noticed something different. A shape that stuck out in the gloom.

"Lapis!" they quickly ran over to it.

It was indeed Lapis Lazuli. She was floating, her feet a little ways up, with chains bound to her wrists that went into the watery surface.

"Hey, Lapis!" Stevonnie called out again as they ran up. They felt their chest clench as they got close.

Lapis wasn't responding. And she didn't look good.

Stevonnie remembered how she looked when Steven last saw her here. She hadn't looked well then, but now…

Her whole body looked bruised and battered. Stevonnie was no stranger to seeing Gems in rough shape. They could remember plenty of times Amethyst or Garnet or even sometimes Pearl coming back looking beat-up and worn-out after a particularly long and grueling mission. But this… this was different. The other Gems always seemed to take such things in stride, Garnet with her trademark stoicism would just shrug it off with a thumbs-up or a deadpan joke or maybe a small smile directed only at Steven, Amethyst would be showing off her bruises like badges of honor or cracking jokes, and Pearl would go on a lengthy spiel about Gem physiology and explain how her injuries only _looked_ bad and they weren't anything to worry about, regardless of whether they actually were or not.

Lapis… Lapis was none of these things right now. She didn't just look beat-up… she looked _beaten_. Her clothing was torn and disheveled. Her hair messy and unkempt. Cuts and bruises all over her exposed skin. And above all else, she was so… _still_. The way she floated there reminded Stevonnie of a movie Connie had watched that had shown bodies floating in the ocean. Bodies that were lifele-

NO! Stevonnie smashed that thought down _hard_ before it could finish. They were _NOT_ going to allow themself to think like that!

"Lapis," Stevonnie spoke up, reaching out towards the blue gem, her wrists just within reach of their arms. As Stevonnie's hands gently took hold of her wrists and just as gently pulled her down, Lapis's eyelids started with flicker.

"St… Steven…?" her lips moved slowly, her voice weak.

Stevonnie felt their heart sore with relief, continuing to pull Lapis down gently until her feet were on the groun-er… water.

"Steven?" Lapis spoke more clearly, before her eyes finally fluttered open, and looked at Stevonnie in confusion.

"Wait… who are… you…? Where's Steven?"

Oh… right. Stevonnie had gotten so caught up in the task of saving Lapis that they'd forgotten that little detail. With all of Steven's memories of interacting with Lapis it was easy to forget that they and Lapis had never actually met.

"Oh, um… Steven's right here, he's just part of me." Stevonnie spoke awkwardly. They really should have thought of this ahead of time.

Lapis squinted one eye and cocked her head in confusion. If the situation wasn't so simultaneously dire and awkward, Stevonnie would have found the look kinda cute.

"Uh, yeah. So, I'm Stevonnie. I'm a fusion! Between Steven and his friend Connie." Stevonnie spoke while awkwardly scratching the back of their head, before remembering to gesture to the Rose Quartz Gem in their belly that was fully visible thanks to their midriff as a way of proving who at least _part_ of them was.

"Okay…" Lapis spoke slowly. She didn't seem entirely convinced, but the sight of Steven's Gem seemed to satisfy her somewhat.

"But… what are you doing here?" Lapis spoke, "I told Steven to stay away!" Stevonnie remembered this from Steven's time here. Lapis begging Steven not to come back, telling him not to help her. To leave her in this horrible prison.

"Lapis, I'm here to help. We can get you out of here."

"You can't!" Lapis nearly screamed. She looked desperate, and afraid. "Don't you get it? You shouldn't be here! You… Steven… will only get hurt in here!" All the energy suddenly died out from Lapis's voice. When she spoke, she sounded so tiered, "Please… just… just let me do this fo-"

"NO!" Stevonnie yelled. They didn't mean to get so upset, but hearing Lapis say that, just like when Steven was here… They remembered why those words upset him so much back then. They were the same words of someone else in much the same position as Lapis.

" _Just let me do this for you, Rose!"_

"No." Stevonnie repeated, "I'm not letting you do this alone. I'm sick of people hurting themselves just for my sake!"

"But… but I'm trying to protect-" Lapis tried to speak up.

"Well you're not! Do you have any idea how much it hurts seeing you like this? How much it hurts Steven?" Stevonnie was dimly aware of the watering in their eyes. As much as seeing Lapis like this hurt Steven, somehow, in this moment, seeing her like this hurt Stevonnie even more.

"Please…" Stevonnie felt their fists clench, "just let me help you. Let _us_ help you."

Lapis stared at them with wide eyes. Stevonnie could see that they were watering up too. Then she closed her eyes and sank to her knees, her head turned to the ground. She spoke in a voice so small and weak Stevonnie barely heard it.

"I don't know how you can…" Lapis's voice sounded so weak. It was as if her argument with Stevonnie had drained the last of her strength, "Jasper's taken over, and I don't have the strength to fight her anymore…"

For a moment, Stevonnie wondered if they had been too hard on Lapis just now. They quickly filed those thoughts away for later. Right now, Lapis didn't need apologies. She needed encouragement.

"You're not the only one fighting Lapis," Stevonnie knelt down, extending a hand to the blue gem, "Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, they're out there fighting Malachite right now. You don't have fight Jasper all on your own. We just need your help."

Lapis looked up to Stevonnie for a moment, before weakly turning away, shying away from their offered hand.

"But I can't do _anything_. I used up all my strength keeping Jasper down. Now she's up there, she has all the strength, all the power. And between her strength and my powers, I don't know how your friends stand a chance." She sounded so weak, so… _defeated_. It made Stevonnie's stomach clench.

However, something about what Lapis just said… it made Stevonnie realize something.

"But… aren't those _your_ powers? Can't you turn them against her?"

Lapis actually _laughed_. An empty, humorless laugh.

"What do you think I've been doing all this time? I've completely drained myself using my powers to keep us trapped under the ocean. There's no way I can use my powers against Jasper."

"Well… what if you just turned your powers off?" Stevonnie spoke up, an idea forming in their head. "What if you didn't actually use your powers, you just kept _Jasper_ from using them?"

Suddenly, Lapis's face shot up to meet Stevonnie's gaze. In that moment, Stevonnie saw a spark of something in Lapis's eyes. A tiny, infentismal spark, but a spark all the same. A spark of Hope.

"Would… would that even help?" her voice was still weak, but Stevonnie could hear that tiny bit of strength returning to it.

Stevonnie nodded emphatically, "Alexandrite's just as big and strong as Malachite, probably a little stronger actually. If you can shut down her water powers, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl can take it from there."

Lapis met Stevonnie's gaze for a long moment, then she turned away.

"I… I don't think I can do that… I… Doing this by myself…" Stevonnie could hear the strength slipping away. Returning to that voice that sounded so weak, so _beaten._

Stevonnie couldn't take it anymore.

In a flash, they sprung forward, pulling Lapis into a hug.

"You're not alone Lapis. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, they're out there, but I'm right here. I'm here for you."

Lapis seemed to be frozen, both by Stevonnie's words and their actions.

"You can do this, Lapis. I know you can!" Stevonnie continued, holding Lapis close to them.

"I… I don't know…" Lapis's voice was shaky, her uncertainty and despair warring with the hope and encouragement she was being given.

"Lapis… If you can't believe in yourself," Stevonnie pulled back a little so their gaze met Lapis's, faces so close their foreheads were almost touching, "then you can believe in me. Because _I_ believe in you. And I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you, Lapis." Stevonnie's lips curled up into the biggest, brightest smile they could manage.

"So believe in _me_ , who believes in _you_. Can you do that, Lapis?"

Lapis starred into Stevonnie's eyes, her face blank. Then her eyes closed… and Stevonnie felt a small pair of arms reaching around their back to return the embrace. Lapis met Stevonnie's gaze again.

And she smiled.

"I think… I can do that."

Her voice was still shaky, but there was a strength behind it. A strength that was growing.

Stevonnie kept on smiling.

"That's all you need to do."

After another moment, they both pulled away from the embrace. A small part of Stevonnie was actually a little disappointed by the loss of contact, but they quickly filed that thought away. However, they made sure to take hold of Lapis's hands in their own. Their way of making sure Lapis knew that Stevonnie wasn't going anywhere.

"Okay…" Lapis let out a breath as she steadied herself, "Let's do this."

Lapis was still for a moment as she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Then the rumbling started.

 _That_ got Stevonnie concerned. This wasn't like before, where the rumbling was coming from outside. They could see ripples forming on the watery surface they and Lapis were sitting on. This was definitely coming from Malachite.

Then Stevonnie glanced down and their breath hitched at the dark shape visible on the other side of the surface.

"Is that…?" they started.

"Yeah. It's Jasper." Lapis answered. "She can probably tell that I'm trying something." Her voice was still soft, but the weakness was fading. Now she sounded focused, concentrated on a task.

"Can she… do anything? To us?" Stevonnie asked, feeling a not-small amount of unease, remembering what Steven felt when he saw Jasper when he was in here. The hulking Gem soldier was one of the few things that truly unsettled Steven, as was the prospect of fighting her. But, then, Stevonnie was _not_ Steven. And the sight of what Jasper had done to Lapis in here created a feeling that squashed any feelings of unease at fighting the Homeworld soldier.

"Not much, so long as we're…" Lapis began, before trailing off. Then something occurred to her.

"Steve- uh, Stevonnie, you should get out of here."

"What? No!" Stevonnie's gaze shot back to Lapis, "I'm not leaving you here to do this alone!"

"No, that's not it." Lapis quickly shook her head, "I'm not going to be able to break up Malachite. The only way to stop her is if your friends break me and Jasper apart by force. And when that happens… what happens to you if you're in here?"

 _That_ made Stevonnie pause in their reply. They were connected to _Malachite_ at the moment, not Lapis. And if, or rather _when_ the mind they were inside effectively ceased to exist, what would happen to anyone else who happened to be inside at the moment…?

"…I see your point." Stevonnie conceded, "But what about Jasper? If she knows you're trying something…"

"She can't do anything to me." Lapis answered, her lips curling into a different kind of smile. Unlike before, this smile was more a conniving smirk.

"If she comes down here, then I go up there." She gestured to the water.

Right… Stevonnie had forgotten how this place seemed to work. If Lapis didn't try to fight Jasper directly, there wasn't much the other Gem could do to her. But even so…

"Are you sure? I said you don't have to do this alone…"

"It's okay… Stevonnie." Lapis made an effort to use their name this time, "I can do this. Trust me."

The blue Gem fixed Stevonnie with a look. The weakness in her eyes that Stevonnie had seen before was gone. Now all that was left was determination.

Stevonnie could help but feel a vague sense of familiarity.

"Alright." They nodded in affirmation. "Just remember, we're all here for you." They placed a hand on Lapis's shoulder. " _I'm_ here for you."

Lapis nodded in return.

"I know. And… thanks."

"No prob, Bob." Stevonnie replied with a knowing grin. That actually got a small chuckle out of Lapis.

"See you on the outside."

As Stevonnie cut the connection, they had no doubt in their mind that they would.

* * *

Stevonnie awoke to the sounds of furious combat.

Guess they'd be able to see a Kaiju battle after all.

Getting to their feet, Stevonnie had a ringside seat to the titanic conflict raging on the coast. And they could tell the battle wasn't going well for their side.

Alexandrite was ducking and diving left and right to avoid Malachite's attacks. The monstrous rampaging fusion was sending what seemed to be an endless barrage of water-based attacks at the Crystal Gem. To Stevonnie, Malachite's attacks had none of the control or precision that Lapis used. When Lapis had fought the Crystal Gems, it was with near-exact copies of each of her opponents made out of water, each replicating the original's fighting style almost perfectly.

Malachite on the other hand used no such poise or form, instead opting for massive, malformed fists created out of water to pummel her opponent. It was crude, but there was no doubt as to its effectiveness. Alexandrite wasn't looking good.

Even as Stevonnie had that thought, a pair of fists caught Alexandrite in the face and stomach, knocking her off-balance. Malachite took advantage of this immediately, grabbing the stunned fusion in massive arms of water while cackling with insane glee.

"HAHAHA! GOT YOU NOW YOU LITTLE CLODS!"

As Malachite continued to pummel Alexandrite, Stevonnie felt their hands clench in frustration and uncertainty.

 _Come on Lapis. I know you got this._

"NOW IT'S TIME I CRUSHED YOU TRAITORS FOR GOOD!"

And as if Lapis had heard Stevonnie's thoughts, the watery tendrils holding Alexandrite suddenly fell apart, falling harmlessly back into the ocean. The fusion fell to the ground, panting heavily.

"WHAT THE…!" Malachite screamed in surprise, moving her arm up to control the water again, only for nothing, "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

Stevonnie felt their face turn to a huge smile of pride.

 _I knew you could do it!_

"RRRAAAHHH! WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT, LAZULI?!" Malachite yelled out in indignation, "GRRRR! FINE! I'LL JUST CRUSH YOU TRAITORS MYSELF!"

Stevonnie's smile fell instantly as they realized what this meant. Alexandrite was still on the ground. She needed a moment to recover. If Malachite attacked right now… She might not _need_ Lapis's powers to win.

Stevonnie began to grind their teeth in frustration before they realized something.

Both fusions were a _lot_ closer to the shore than they were when the fight started. In fact, Malachite was now moving practically right in front of the bluff Stevonnie was on.

Stevonnie's lips curled into a smirk.

It seemed an opportune time to do something profoundly, _incredibly, INSANELY_ stupid.

Holding their arm out, Stevonnie called up their shield…

…and proceeded to hurl it straight into Malachite's face

Their aim was dead on, striking Malachite directly in the eye (one that was originally Jasper's, they made sure of).

"GHAAAAA! WHAT THE- WHAT WAS THAT?!" Malachite screeched in surprise. And a little pain, Stevonnie was proud to admit.

"HEY! PLUTONIUM BREATH!" Stevonnie yelled at the top of their lungs, trying against all rational logic to get Malachite's attention. They succeeded.

"WHAT THE…?" Malachite looked to where the projectile that struck her eye seemed to have come from, only to find what looked like a simple human standing on the shore yelling at her.

"DID YOU REALLY THINK IT WAS GONNA BE THAT EASY?! THAT WAS JUST THE WARM-UP! NOW YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH _ME!_ " Stevonnie drew Rose's sword, pointed it straight at the fusion that was bigger than every building in Beach City combined and put on a smile that was as crazy as they were feeling right now.

"IT'S TIME FOR ROUND TWO, **BITCH!** "

Yeah… this was a _great_ idea.

But at least Alexandrite was too far away to hear them use the bad word. Probably.

Hopefully.

Malachite seemed to just get finished recognizing both the sword and the pink gemstone in the strange human's stomach when a massive purple flail on a long chain wrapped around her.

"HEY!" a raspy voice thundered out from behind Malachite. "DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!"

With a mighty heave of Sugilite's flail with three hands, Alexandrite yanked Malachite off her hand-feet and brought the fusion hurtling towards her.

And with her other three hands, Alexandrite conjured up an equally massive hammer.

"I'M YOUR OPPONENT!"

As Malachite reached her, Alexandrite gave a colossal swing of Sardonyx's mallet into the fusion's gut, sending Malachite flying up into the sky so fast Stevonnie was pretty sure they could see a Mach cone starting to form around her.

As Malachite reached the apex of her flight, she seemed to be trying to do something. If Stevonnie had guess, they'd assume Malachite was trying to form Lapis's wings. And she was failing. And it was a _long_ way down.

But then again, Malachite probably wouldn't even reach the water.

Because grasped in all six of Alexandrite's hands was Opal's massive bow, with a huge arrow of light aimed right at Malachite.

"I THINK YOU TWO NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME APART."

And with that, Alexandrite loosed the arrow.

With the sound of a hundred thunder-cracks, the arrow shot upwards like the biggest lightning bolt Stevonnie had ever seen, splitting the sky and parting the clouds before slamming into Malachite.

The fusion seemed to bulge, distort and warp until she could finally take no more.

In a brilliant explosion of light, Malachite was gone.

After a display like that, Stevonnie almost broke out into a full-blown cheer and victory dance, but one thing still held their focus. They peered up into the sky, scanning for the others that should be there.

Then Stevonnie saw them. Two falling shapes, one small and blue, the other large and orange. Lapis and Jasper.

Alexandrite held out a pair of hands to catch the two and Stevonnie let out a sigh of relief.

With the two Gems safely recovered, Alexandrite made her way to the shore where Stevonnie ran to meet her. The massive fusion crouched to gently deposit the two Gems on the sand before finally dispersing in a burst of light back to her three component parts.

Garnet landed flat on her feet while Pearl fell to her knees and Amethyst fell flat on her face.

"I'm alive…" the purple Gem gave a muffled grumble along with thumbs up when Garnet moved to check on her.

"Guys!" Stevonnie yelled out in excited greeting as they ran up to join their friends, pulling Garnet and Pearl into a big hug. If there was one thing Stevonnie enjoyed about being so much bigger, it was being able to initiate group hugs. "That was AWESOME!"

"Hmm, that is was." Garnet replied, giving Stevonnie a pat on the back, "Though I don't think we would have pulled it off if Malachite's water powers hadn't mysteriously vanished." The taller fusion gave Stevonnie a small, knowing grin.

"Yes, that was quite fortunate." Pearl added, giving Stevonnie a much more obvious smile of pride, "I imagine that was your doing?"

Stevonnie pulled out of the hug, giving both Gems a huge smile of their own.

"Nope." They replied, before kneeling down to the blue Gem on the ground. "That was all her."

"Then we'll all have to give her the proper thanks when she wakes up." Garnet gave a nod of understanding. The she saw Stevonnie's face starting to twist into concern.

"She's going to be fine, Stevonnie. She just needs some time to rest."

Stevonnie turned back towards Garnet, giving her a nod of thanks.

"Whoo, yeah… new Crystal Gem, alright…" Amethyst gave a lazy, though not unkind, groan as she finally pulled herself to her feet. "By the way, feeling a little left out here…"

"Right. Of course." Stevonnie replied with a grin as they realized their grave mistake before swooping Amethyst up in a hug of her own.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Amethyst gave whoop of exuberance before pulling out of Stevonnie's hug to take her place on their back. Stevonnie was starting to wonder if hanging off their back was going to become a normal thing for Amethyst.

Then the ground shook.

"Uh, didn't you say _Malachite_ was causing the earthquakes?" Amethyst asked.

Then the ground _really_ shook. All four Gems fought to steady themselves.

Then the ground split open, breaking apart in jagged cracks that shot all over the beach and into the island.

' _Oh.'_ Stevonnie thought, _'guess Peridot was right after all.'_

* * *

AN:

Wow. This chapter turned out to be a LOT longer than I was expecting. You think you know all the stuff that needs to go in it, but then it just keeps growing and growing and you keep think of new stuff that should go in it and... yeah you get the idea. Like I wasn't expecting the Stevonnie/Lapis interacting to turn out as... shippy as it did, but I think it turned out pretty good.

Also, yes. I did the whole 'Believe in me who Believes in you bit'. In my defense, Guardians of the Galaxy did it also... but yeah I was totally thinking about other thing too when I was writing it.

And for the record, Stevonnie TOTALLY would have kicked Malachite's ass if Alexandrite hadn't gotten in the way. It's like that time Kamina went up against a giant robot on foot with a katana. Sure, at first glance it may SEEM one-sided, but you think about it for a moment and then you realize that there really is only one reasonable way that fight can end :)


	4. INTERLUDE: Friction Drill

The next few minutes were a blur to Stevonnie.

First there was appearing in the Temple's fire room, then popping the bubble they were in and dropping to the floor (thankfully avoiding the many other small bubbles on the way down this time), then dashing out the door into the house and onto the Warp Pad, mentally selecting the Pad near the barn, and finally the rush as they were whisked away to their destination.

"I TOLD YOU IT WAS HAPPENING!" Stevonnie could hear Peidot's high-pitched yelling before the light of the warp even dissipated.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Stevonnie replied as they ran up to the barn where Peridot was waiting next to the drill.

"Obviously if you had been listening to me earlier we would have… wait where are the others?" Peridot interrupted herself as she realized Stevonnie was alone.

"The Mask Island Warp Pad got smashed. Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst were able to send me to the Temple in a bubble, and I warped here from there. They can't make it back here anytime soon. We're on our own."

"Gira-afa-sapa…" Peridot grumbled incoherently, grabbing at her hair. Obviously the stress of the situation wasn't making the last-minute alterations to their plan any easier to deal with.

"OKAY!" thankfully the green Gem was quick to pull herself together, "I already started the pre-drill checks. The micro-reactors are warming up, and this is pretty much my design so I _suppose_ we don't really need the others. There is one thing though."

"Yeah?" Stevonnie asked.

"Why do we need to bring Lapis Lazuli?"

"What do mean Lap- Oh." Stevonnie realized as they looked down. In all the confusion, they'd forgotten they were still carrying Lapis in their arms. "Right. Be right back!"

Stevonnie dashed into the barn, laying the unconscious Gem down gently on a soft-looking mat, or at least as gently as they could manage while rushing to avert the total destruction of the planet.

"Okay! Ready!"

Figuring that the situation was a bit too dire for ladders, Stevonnie bypassed them entirely, leaping to the top of the scaffold in a single bound to join Peridot in the repurposed escape pod that served as the Drill's cockpit.

"Alright!" Peidot looked up to Stevonnie, "Are you ready to drill down into the planet, to depths never before reached by your species, _to stop the cluster before it forms_ _AND SAVE YOUR WORLD?!"_

"Uh… yeah, I guess." Stevonnie spoke awkwardly. Peridot had kinda put them on the spot there.

"GAH! NO! You're supposed to match my exuberance so as to give me a much needed confidence boost!"

"Oh… then, YEAH! I'm ready!"

"YOU'RE LYING TO ME! You're only artificially inflating your enthusiasm just to tell me what I want to hear! Now all I'm thinking about it how you don't care and now I can't focus and all I ca-"

"PERIDOT!" Stevonnie yelled.

"WHAT?!"

"Can we go save the world now?"

"Graphim… Flurgen… YES! GET IN THE POD!"

* * *

"So… are we there yet?"

"Negative. These injection drills were never designed to go more than a few miles down so even with the modifications it will still take us a while to reach the Cluster."

"Oh, okay."

"I didn't realize it'd be so cramped in here."

"Well if you two just unfused it probably wouldn't be so bad." Peridot replied. "Really, given the urgency of the situation, it would probably be better if you had unfused before…" Peridot trailed off as she noticed the look Stevonnie was giving her.

It was a look very much like the one Garnet had given Peridot after the first (and last) time Peridot had called the fusion a 'war machine' to her face. Only somehow Stevonnie's was worse.

"Er… n-nevermind." Peridot made a quick verbal backspace while trying to suppress the shiver running along her Gem. That glare was worthy of one of the Diamonds on a bad day. "…Sorry."

Stevonnie took a deep breath as Peridot quickly went back to work guiding the drill, the fusion working to steady their nerves. They reminded themself they shouldn't be getting so angry. Peridot didn't exactly have a frame of reference for their… _situation_.

That didn't mean they were going to apologize for that glare though.

"Hey, what's that noise?"

* * *

AN: So, I originally planned on writing a whole chapter about Stevonnie and Peridot stopping the Cluster, but about two pages in I realized that I just couldn't come up with any way that replacing Steven with Stevonnie would have any real affect on events of Gem Drill. So I decided to skip it and move on to the events of 'Same Old World'.

However, I figured I might as well post what little I did do, considering it DOES have a somewhat-significant character moment for Stevonnie and because Peridot isn't going to get much focus in the coming chapters anyway, so I might as well give her what I can.


	5. Brave New Home

"So there we were, drilling deep into the crust. We just pieced the upper asthenosphere when we here this… _creaking noise_ … and then BOOM! Dozens of fusion experiments crawling all over the drill!" Peridot threw up her tiny arms for emphasis to keep her audience enraptured.

"I think there were about four, maybe five of them." Stevonnie spoke up from where they sat against the remains of the Gem Drill.

Across from the two world-savers sat their audience of three Gems. Pearl gave Stevonnie a small, knowing smile at their comment, making it clear that she was taking Peridot's account of their journey with a grain of salt. Next to her, Garnet was nodding along with Peridot's story while chewing on that strand of wheat she'd taken to chewing on for the last few weeks. Amethyst was laying on her stomach, munching on some snacks, clearly much more invested in the green Gem's performance than any actual accuracy of the story.

"They started banging on the walls, moaning and grinding! Of course, I quickly took charge of the situation, bringing up the mounted blasters and sending them packing!" Peridot continued.

"Yeah, but before that she squeaked and tried to hide under the console. I mean, literally, she _squeaked_. It was kind of adorable."

This time Peridot did seem to notice and sent her best withering glare at Stevonnie. A glare that Stevonnie also found kind of cute.

"I WAS NOT HIDING! I was just double-checking the activation systems for the blasters! And I was NOT ADORABLE!"

"So, we _are_ in agreement that you squeaked then?" Stevonnie replied.

Peridot was sputtering through a rebuttal when Amethyst spoke up.

"I don't know man, I'm not buying that."

"Why thank you Amethyst. I knew I could always co-"

"I mean, how is Peri squeaking _not_ adorable." The purple Gem's face was split by a giant, mischievous grin.

"I find myself agreeing with Amethyst. That just does _not_ sound possible." Pearl herself had an uncharacteristically mischievous smile of her own.

"Not a chance." Garnet added in her signature deadpan.

"GAAH! I REFUSE TO BE MOE-EFIED IN SUCH A MANNER!" Peridot screeched.

The Crystal Gems simple looked confused.

"Uh… 'Moe'?" Pearl asked.

' _Oh dear… She discovered anime.'_ Stevonnie wasn't sure why, but they were pretty sure that _could not_ be a good thing.

"Ah, you've never heard of it?" Peridot made a near-instant switch from indignant to haughty. "Well you see, the term is generally considered to have originated in the late 1980's with…"

Stevonnie chose that moment to make a stealthy departure from the conversation.

Partly to avoid the inevitable awkwardness, but there was actually an important reason.

Stevonnie gave Lion a passing pat on the head as they approached the barn. Pausing at the entrance, they absently lay a hand on the threshold as they looked inside.

Looking at the blue gem who was still lying still exactly where they had placed her.

Stevonnie chewed their lip, debating whether or not to check on Lapis.

"You're worried about her."

A year ago, Stevonnie (or rather, Steven) might have jumped in surprise. But by this point, they were fairly used to the taller Gem popping out of nowhere like that.

"Yeah." Stevonnie nodded at Garnet's assessment.

"Lapis Lazuli went through a horrible situation. She just needs to time to rest. To heal."

"I know that but…" Stevonnie couldn't help gritting their teeth a little at the memory that surfaced, "…you didn't see what it was like. What… _all that_ did to her." It was impossible to sum up everything that was Jasper, Malachite, and the things Stevonnie had seen inside them.

"You're right." Garnet agreed. "I can't imagine the horrors Lapis Lazuli must have experienced. But _you_ have seen them. So Stevonnie, you tell me whether or not she's is strong enough to make it through this."

Stevonnie's head whipping around to face Garnet was as instant as their reply.

" _Of course she's strong enough!"_

Stevonnie was almost taken aback the moment those words left their lips. Did… did they actually just _snap?_ At _Garnet?_

But the taller Gem simply smiled.

"Then there's your answer." She replied, placing a comforting hand on Stevonnie's shoulder.

Stevonnie's eyes widened briefly. Then they chuckled in relief.

"Thanks Garnet."

"Also…" the other fusion continued as she withdrew her hand, "something tells me Lapis won't have to deal with this alone either." She sent Stevonnie a small, knowing grin with that.

Before Stevonnie could ask for clarification on that last bit, Garnet turned and waved them to follow.

"Now come on. Peridot just started a slideshow."

Really?

Peridot giving a _slideshow presentation on the concept of MOE?_

That… actually sounded pretty funny.

* * *

Stevonnie's eyes flickered open at a strange sound. It was sort of like feet tapping on wood.

Shaking the sleepiness from their eyes, Stevonnie got to their feet to investigate, their eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness of night. They took a look inside the barn only to see a blue figure standing in front of the giant hole in the opposite wall, one hand on the wall to steady herself.

"Lapis!" they called out, a smile of relief spreading on their face, "You're up!"

Lapis's head whipped around in surprise at the voice.

"Steven…! Er, uh… Stev… onnie… right?" she replied, only to awkwardly correct herself. She was definitely still getting used to the idea of this person who simultaneously _was_ Steven and _was not_ Steven.

"Yeah… uh, from the dream. You remember all that?" Stevonnie replied, feeling their own growing awkwardness. It was becoming more and more clear that just because Stevonnie possessed several memories of interacting with Lapis via Steven, that didn't change the fact that they themself only just met the blue Gem. It was like talking to someone you'd heard a lot about but never actually met before.

"Uh… yes, I do. Sort of. It's… kind of a blur…?" Lapis replied, rather uneasy herself.

"Yeah, it's like that for me too." Stevonnie responded, "But it's great to see you up! Are you feeling okay?" they asked as they approached the Gem.

"Yes, I'm… okay." Lapis answered, turning to face Stevonnie fully. She crossed her arms, seemingly uneasily. "And, thanks… Stevonnie. For… everything." Her gaze met Stevonnie's and she gave the fusion an awkward smile.

Stevonnie felt themself smiling in return before the implicit meaning behind Lapis's words sunk in.

"Wait, you're leaving?"

"I…" Lapis stammered for a moment, caught off-guard by Stevonnie's perception, "…Yes. I'm sorry but… I can't stay here."

"Why not?" Stevonnie couldn't help feeling saddened at seeing Lapis want to leave. Steven's time with Lapis seemed to only consist of pretty stressful/horrible events, so Stevonnie had been looking forward to being able to just hang out some with the blue Gem, "Is it… because of us? The Crystal Gems?"

"I… Yes…" Lapis was briefly taken off-guard again by Stevonnie guess, "OH! Uh… I mean, not _you!_ But… uh…" She quickly stammered while waving her arms in apology as she amended her statement, realizing how it sounded.

"It's not because of _you_ , but… Yes. Your friends, the Crystal Gems. I know they helped save me but I just… I can't stay here, with them, or this planet." Lapis turned away from Stevonnie, her arms hugging herself in unease.

Stevonnie nodded. That was one thing that stuck out in the memories. Lapis wasn't a big fan of the CGs. Apparently something bad happened in the past. It seemed Stevonnie was discovering a lot more of these bad things recently.

"So where are you going then?" Stevonnie inquired, partly curious and partly out of concern. Then they remembered what happened the _last_ time Lapis left Earth, and the fallout of that decision, "You're… not going back to Homeworld, are you?"

"I…" Lapis suddenly stiffened. _That_ question definitely threw her for a loop. "…Yeah… I guess that would be a pretty bad idea at this point. If I showed up there again they'd certainly brand me as a failure… or a traitor." Lapis turned back to face Stevonnie, a dry, humorless grin on her face. Then, her eyes widened in realization.

"If Homeworld isn't an option… Then the colonies are out too… And the outposts…" Suddenly Lapis seemed to deflate, all strength leaving her. Drained of energy, she leaned up against the wall next to the whole, sliding down.

"…I can't go anywhere. I'm stuck here…" Lapis sat on the floor, her head falling into her hands on her knees. It was over. There was nowhere else to go. She was stuck on this miserable planet. _Again_.

She was starting to choke as the floor creaked beside her.

"I'm sorry Lapis." Stevonnie sat down beside the blue Gem, a comforting hand going to her shoulder.

Lapis wasn't sure how, but the hand coming to rest on her shoulder _did_ help, if only a little.

"…Thanks."

The two sat in silence for what felt like a long time.

"You know, the Earth's not such a bad place to be stuck on." Stevonnie finally spoke up.

"Having been stuck here for five thousand years, I kinda doubt that." Lapis replied sardonically. However, even if Lapis didn't see it, that reply only brought a small smile to Stevonnie's face.

"Yeah, but at least you're not in a mirror anymore. That's got to count for something, right?"

"I guess that is something…" Lapis spoke slowly. She supposed that anything was preferable to being back in the mirror. Aside from being fused with Jasper again. She wasn't sure whether _that_ or being stuck in a mirror again was the least preferable.

"And hey, now you can actually talk to people again. You don't need to do any crazy voice feedback tricks." Stevonnie continued.

"Yes, that _is_ great. And just who am I going to talk to?" Lapis found her sarcasm coming back in full force. "The Crystal Gems? Or some crazed monsters? Or some humans who have no idea what I am or what I'm talking about?"

"You can talk to me."

Lapis's biting thoughts came to a screeching halt. She'd just said she had no one to talk to, but here she was, talking with someone. A very special someone. Before the war, and before the mirror, Lapis never really had _friends_. She almost always worked alone and never found much need for companions. But then there was Steven. Someone who went out of their way time and time again to help her. And now here was someone who was Steven and yet wasn't Steven doing the same thing. Trying to help her however they could…

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess you're right." Lapis found herself finally lifting her gaze, turning to see a small, but still bright smile on Stevonnie's face. And Lapis realized that she herself was smiling back at them.

Then Stevonnie chuckled. "I'm glad we finally got a chance to do this. I'm pretty sure all the other times you and Steven were together, something horrible was happening."

Lapis chuckled back. "Well, I think that's just my thin-"

She halted at the sound of voices outside the barn. Talking. She knew those voices. The Crystal Gems. Lapis felt her whole body clench. She knew they'd saved her life, but even so… The idea of facing those Gems after what they did…

Lapis started as she felt Stevonnie's hand on her shoulder again. She looked to see the fusion giving her a knowing smile.

"Hey, you want to take this somewhere else?" Stevonnie heard Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst talking too. Stevonnie knew the other Crystal Gems didn't mean any harm to Lapis, but the fusion also know that Lapis might not be ready to face them yet.

"Come on, we don't have to stick around here." Stevonnie got to their feet. "How does that sound?" The fusion held out a hand.

Lapis looked at the offered hand for a moment.

"I… I think I like the sound of that."

She took the hand.

* * *

Their departure wasn't all that dramatic. Stevonnie and Lapis just stepped through the hole in the wall and walked down the hill away from the barn into the nearby woods.

Stevonnie didn't really have a destination in mind. They did have the idea of showing Lapis Beach City, maybe taking her by the Big Donut or the Fry shack, but then they remembered that all those places were closed at the moment. And also that Lapis might not be up for human interaction at the moment. So instead Stevonnie figured they and Lapis could just wander around aimlessly for a while, talking about any random topic.

"Uh, Stev… onnie? What's that sound?" Lapis on the other hand, was still getting used to a few things. Like Stevonnie. Fusion was never something Lapis was very familiar with, because she didn't need to be. There was never a need for Lapis Lazulis like herself to fuse. Fusion was something Quartzes or Rubies did with their own kind to get an edge in battle. And fusing with a Gem that was _not_ your own kind? That was unheard of. Practically sacrilege.

But then of course, the Crystal Gems had taken that most heinous of societal taboos and _weaponized it_. You wouldn't think a Sapphire and a single Ruby could do much, but apparently together they could toss Quartzes around like pebbles. Even as horrific an experience as it was, Lapis couldn't deny that her own fusion with Jasper had resulted in something insanely powerful.

And now here was Stevonnie. Someone very much like Steven, and yet… Lapis was about to say _not_ Steven, but that wasn't true. Stevonnie didn't _lack_ anything that Steven was, they were just… _more_ than Steven. Stevonnie might act a little different from Steven, but there was no doubt that everything that Steven was, existed in Stevonnie. There were just… other things in them too. Lapis was still trying to wrap her head around that.

And the strange noises chirping all around the two weren't making that any easier.

"Hm? Those? Those are crickets." Stevonnie answered like that was obvious.

"…And these 'crickets' are…?" Lapis replied. Stevonnie's answer hadn't really answered anything.

"Uh, they're a small insect. They always come out at night and make lots of noise. You never noticed them before?"

"I only worked during the day periods. Better visibility."

"So, what was your job?" Stevonnie asked.

"Terraforming." Lapis replied.

"Ah… that's where you alter a planet's topography to make it hospitable?" Stevonnie asked. They'd read the term before in one of Connie's science-fiction novels.

"Uh… yeah. That's exactly it." Lapis replied, surprised that Stevonnie knew what she was talking about. "I didn't know humans had terraforming capability."

"Oh, we can't. Or, not _yet_ anyway. But we still came up with the idea. It's in a lot of science-fiction stuff."

"Science… fiction?" Lapis spoke slowly, rolling the phrase around in her mind. "…That doesn't make any sense. How is something scientific and not real at the same time?"

"Oh, no. It's not like that," Stevonnie waved their hands defensively, "its… actually kinda the opposite…"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight: You humans come up with ideas that you don't even begin to understand and couldn't possibly exist from your understanding of the universe, and then spend hours or even days to figuring out how these unreal things would even work even though in the off-chance that they are somehow possible, you'll probably never live to see it?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Stevonnie replied, smiling.

Lapis had only one thing to say:

"…Why?"

Stevonnie shrugged.

"We get board _really_ easily."

Lapis couldn't think of a reply to that.

"Hey! Check it out!" Stevonnie called, breaking Lapis from her thoughts.

At some point in their walk, the two Gems had left the canopy of trees and were now it seemed they couldn't go any further. Well, Lapis could, but only on the account that she could fly.

Stretching out to their left and right were the massive cliffs of the coast, the ground dropping away into the ocean far below. Far off to her right, Lapis could just make out the bluff that she knew housed the Crystal Gems' base.

"Wow. Now that's a view." Stevonnie breathed out, taking in the cool night air and the incredible view. Lapis followed their gaze, looking up into the clear night sky and the pale light of the full moon. It was something she'd seen countless times before from her prison, and yet this time… Something was different.

Lapis barely noticed when she let out a low, appreciative whistle.

Stevonnie chuckled approvingly.

"You see? Staying on Earth can't be all bad if you've got views like this."

Lapis started at Stevonnie's words, suddenly remembering the fact that she was stuck here on this planet. But at the same time… ever since she and Stevonnie left that barn, Lapis hadn't even thought about that. She was too busy taking in all those odd sights, sounds and feelings. The cool air on her skin, the strange but oddly rhythmic chirping and squeaking of the nocturnal life-forms, the distant sound of waves breaking against the cliff far below, and the sight of the rolling hills stretched out behind them, the wide expanse of water before them, the tall, craggy cliffs that split them, and the soft, pale light that illuminated it all from above… Somehow, being reminded of her exile didn't sting so much this time.

"Eh, it's okay, I guess." Lapis sent Stevonnie a small, mischievous grin.

Stevonnie's chuckles redoubled, returning Lapis's smile with their own.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! You'll be a proper Earthling in no time." Still chuckling a little, Stevonnie took a seat down on the grass, enjoying the slight wetness that would eventually become the morning dew.

"Does that mean you're going to make me wear one of those stars?" Lapis drawled as she joining Stevonnie.

"'Course not. If you don't want to," Stevonnie waved off Lapis's question, "But I do think you'd look great with one." They added with a mischievous smile of their own.

Lapis shook her head in amusement. Yeah, like _that_ would ever happen.

The two descended into a comfortable silence. Stevonnie splayed out on the ground propped up on their elbows, just enjoying the cool night air and Lapis sitting up with her arms resting on her knees. She had to admit… this was actually pretty nice.

"So, is this any of your handiwork?"

Lapis jumped a little at voice, looking to Stevonnie to see the fusion gesturing to the cliffs before them.

"You said you did terraforming," Stevonnie clarified, "I was wondering if this was some of your work."

"No…" Lapis replied, "I didn't do any work on Earth."

And suddenly, Lapis was reminded. Of _everything._

"I was never supposed to be here." Lapis spoke softly, pulling back into herself just like she'd done in the barn as she felt the memories rushing back like an unstoppable torrent.

Right then, Lapis and Stevonnie were like polar opposites. Stevonnie was splayed out on the ground, the very image of relaxed as they simply enjoyed the night, while Lapis was curled tight like a cord about to snap. In that moment, part of Lapis was profoundly jealous of Stevonnie for their ability to relax like that, rather than be swallowed up by this storm of terrible memories.

"It was only supposed to be a short visit. I was only here to take a look at some of the work of this world's assigned Lapis Lazuli. It wasn't supposed to be very long, just a few cycles. But then…"

Suddenly the quiet of the cliffside was gone, and all Lapis could hear was the raging chaos of battle.

"Then the war happened."

She'd been trying to fly away, only to be knocked from the sky. Nothing made sense. Gems weren't supposed to fight Gems. She stumbled about the barren waste, trying to find her bearings.

The last thing she saw was the massive hand of a Bismuth.

"I got caught in the crossfire of a battle, and my body was destroyed… by a Crystal Gem." Lapis continued. She found her voice catching every few words, as if the very act of speaking was becoming a struggle.

"I was recovered by Homeworld Gems but… But somehow, they thought _I_ was one of the rebels." Lapis nearly choked as emotions came rushing back into her memory. How could they have believed she was a traitor? A rebel? What had she ever done?

"They put me in that mirror, and used it to interrogate me."

" _Where are your bases? What is your force count? Where is Rose Quartz?_ "

Lapis let out a slow breath.

"Of course, I didn't know anything. Not that I could ever get them to believe that."

After that, the memories seemed to blur together. Save for one.

"When it became clear the Crystal Gems were winning, the Homeworld forces fled and I was just… cast aside.

 _Even inside the mirror, Lapis was aware of the chaos around her. Something big was happening. Everyone was desperate to leave. Lapis had no idea what is was, but it had to be bad. Maybe… maybe someone would remember her. Think to bring her along._

 _But no. No one noticed she was even there. In the commotion, the mirror was knocked to the ground. She was dimly aware of a shape coming down…_

 _And then Lapis felt as if her entire being…_ cracked.

"I was left behind. Abandoned." Lapis spoke softly, her voice weak under the weight of all those memories. "I was laying out there at the Galaxy Warp for almost five thousand years before your Pearl found me."

Lapis then chuckled, dull and humorless.

"I don't know what I was thinking, going back to Homeworld. They didn't care about me then. Why would they care about me now?"

Lapis continued chuckling, even as the moisture stared gathering in her eyes.

"I guess my fate was sealed the moment that Crystal Gem destroyed my body. When that Homeworld Gem picked me up."

Lapis wasn't chuckling anymore. Her voice was cracking, drops of water streaking down her face.

"And now… I don't have anywhere to go… I'm stuck here. Alone. Forever…"

"Lapis." The voice broke the blue Gem from her reverie, and Lapis felt a pair of arms wrapping around her, and a warm body pulling her close.

"You're not alone, Lapis."

Stevonnie held Lapis close, even as they felt her tears through their shirt.

"You're not alone." They repeated, "Whatever you need, I'm here for you."

Stevonnie didn't know how long they stayed like that, holding Lapis in their arms while the blue gem cried into their chest.

Eventually, the choked sobbing finally seemed to ebb, and Lapis's breathing slowed. Stevonnie let go of Lapis, settling back down so they were more at eye level.

"Feel better?"

Lapis's face was covered in tear-streaks, her hair was wild and messy…

…and she was smiling. A tiny, ever-so-slight curving of the lip. But a smile nonetheless.

"…Yeah." Lapis's voice was unsteady, but earnest. "I… I think so."

Lapis took another breath, still trying to steady herself, "I… wouldn't have thought that would've actually helped…" The truth was, Lapis was feeling better than she had in… a _long_ time. She'd never actually _talked_ to anyone like this before. Never talked about all the things she'd been through.

Stevonnie nodded. "Yeah, it's kinda hard to believe but… sometimes all you need is someone to listen to you."

Someone to listen… That really was almost everything Stevonnie had just done. And yet… it felt like they'd done _so much more_ than that. It was as if an incredible, indescribable weight had been lifted from Lapis's shoulders.

And Lapis knew that without Stevonnie, she never would have managed this.

"Thank you, Stevonnie."

Stevonnie's smiled widened, and then they gave Lapis a pat on the back.

"It's what I'm here for."

Lapis found her own smile growing as well. And in fact…

"You know…" Lapis found herself averting her gaze from Stevonnie in… embarrassment? "I might… actually get that star."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lapis could see Stevonnie's smile grow into a full face-splitting grin. It even sounded like they were starting to squeal in happiness.

" _Maybe!_ " Lapis yelped back, "Just… maybe." She tried to clarify, while also trying to figure out why her cheeks were suddenly warm.

The squeal stopped, but Stevonnie's giant grin remained.

"Maybe's good."

Even through the strange… _awkwardness_ she was feeling, Lapis found herself still smiling back as the two fell back into that comfortable silence. Except for Lapis, it was much… _more_ than just comfortable. It was hard to remember the last time she'd felt this… _content_. Like all the problems facing her didn't matter anymore. A small part of Lapis wondered if this was what _happy_ was supposed to feel like…

At the moment, Lapis had _no idea_ how she was supposed to process everything that happened this night. But whatever it was… it felt good.

And for the moment, that was enough.

However… there was still one question that'd been eating at Lapis all night.

"…Stevonnie, why are you still… like this? Why haven't you unfused?"

Stevonnie froze.

It was like someone flipped a switch. Suddenly the calm, relaxed air they exuded was gone, replaced by something… tense. And afraid.

Slowly, the fusion drew back into themself. Their back straightened, their legs were brought in and their arm pulled away from Lapis. It was like they were pulling themself into a tight ball. In fact, they were doing exactly what Lapis herself did. Only Stevonnie was also shaking.

Lapis was immediately struck by the thought that she'd just said something _very_ wrong.

"Stevonnie…?"

"I can't." Stevonnie spoke, barely above a whisper.

"What…?" Lapis asked.

"I can't unfuse." Stevonnie said again, louder. "I just… I just can't. Not yet."

"Wait, you… can't?" Lapis asked again, confusion filling her mind. As far as she understood, the main difficulty with fusion was _staying_ fused. Something about needing to keep thoughts in alignment. When Lapis was fused with Jasper, at first most of her effort had gone into simply holding the two of them together. It was only later that Jasper stopped trying to spilt Malachite and instead started fighting Lapis for control. But now Stevonnie was saying that they were somehow… _stuck?_

Stevonnie gave a small nod of their head, gaze still locked forwards.

"Yeah." They answered, "It's… It's complicated."

Lapis felt her body clench as she realized something. The way Stevonnie spoke, the shakiness of their voice, just how _uncomfortable_ this all seemed to be. Whatever caused this… caused Stevonnie to be like this… it _could not_ be good.

"Stevonnie. What _happened?_ Why are you like this? _What happened to Steven?_ "

Lapis's words finally grabbed Stevonnie's full attention, the fusion turning their head to look at the blue Gem.

They saw the worry in Lapis's eyes, the way she had, perhaps without even realizing, moved closer to Stevonnie, even starting to extend her hand towards them. It all felt very familiar to Stevonnie, only this time, the roles were reversed.

Stevonnie took a deep breath as they came to a decision.

Lapis had already revisited some very painful memories of her own for Stevonnie. She deserved the same honesty in return.

"Something… happened." Stevonnie began, their voice still shaky. "Something very bad. Steven and Connie were…" Stevonnie paused, trying to find the words. "…They were in a lot of pain."

"What? Were they in a fight? Are they hurt?!" Lapis interrupted, fear and concern obvious in her voice.

"No." Stevonnie shook their head, "It's not like that. They weren't… injured. But they were still hurt… a lot."

"But then they fused and for me the pain… it didn't hurt as much. It was like… I could deal with it better than they could."

Stevonnie sent Lapis an uneasy smile. "So… here I am. I guess."

Lapis nodded, but was still uncertain.

"But, what about Steven? And… Connie?"

Stevonnie's smile fell apart like wet paper.

They took a deep breath.

"Well, since this… _thing_ doesn't hurt me so much, we sort of decided I'd stick around for a while until Steven and Connie feel better."

Seeing that Lapis still looked uncertain, Stevonnie did their best to put on a reassuring smile.

"They're going to be okay Lapis." They spoke. " _We're_ going to be okay."

Without realizing it, Stevonnie turned their gaze out towards the ocean again.

"We're going to be okay." They repeated with the tone of having said that phrase many, _many_ times.

"We're going-" Stevonnie started to repeat again, but was suddenly cut off.

By a small blue hand coming to rest on their shoulder.

Stevonnie's eyes widened, slowly turned their head to see Lapis reaching out to them. She looked hesitant, uncertain of what she was doing. But Lapis was also doing her best to smile.

"I'm sorry, Stevonnie."

Lapis still wasn't sure what this act precisely meant, but she remembered how she herself felt when Stevonnie did it for her. How it drove away all the pain and loss that threatened to consume her. It was… _comforting_ to know that there was someone who would help, or simply _care._ And when Lapis saw Stevonnie descend into that spiral of pain and uncertainty that she knew all too well…

It only made sense that Lapis return the favor.

"I'm… I'm here for you too." Lapis repeated the words Stevonnie told her, trying to convey the feeling she'd felt before from them.

Part of Stevonnie was amazed to see Lapis reaching out like this. But mostly…

Stevonnie placed their hand over Lapis's, and smiled.

This was not the smile they'd given Lapis before, full of confidence and assuredness. It couldn't hide the uncertainty and pain that still racked their mind.

It was a smile of simple gratitude. For just… _being there_ for them.

It wasn't like Stevonnie hadn't had these conversations before with Garnet, Pearl or Amethyst. It wasn't like Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst hadn't reached out to them either.

But with Lapis… something was different.

Maybe it was because Stevonnie just met Lapis, didn't have the same history and baggage that they did with the other Crystal Gems.

Or… maybe it was because when Stevonnie looked at Lapis, they knew she was going through _the exact same thing_. She had her own uncertainty, her own pain, and yet she was still reaching out to them just as they did to her.

For the first time in almost two months, Stevonnie felt like they _weren't_ alone.

"Thanks Lapis."


	6. The One With Some Floating

AN: Whoo! Updated within a year!

Anyway, just a heads up, this time we're picking up after the baseball game with the Ruby Squad. Like with the events of Gem Drill, I couldn't come up with a way that Stevonnie's presence would have any meaningful affect on the events of Barn Mates or Hit the Diamond. Hopefully, this is the last time I'll have to skip around like this.

* * *

"Man. Rubys are _dumb_." Amethyst remarked as the six Gems watched the Homeworld spaceship speed off into the sky.

"Hm. Not all of them." Garnet mused, tweaking her visor a little.

"Hey, so what about Lapis?" Amethyst gestured towards the blue gem, "She staying here with P-Dot?"

Lapis, who'd been subtly moving away from the group to stand on her own, started in surprise, both at being pointed out and the topic itself. That was… actually something she wasn't all that sure about.

Sure, Peridot had been upgraded to 'more or less tolerable' in Lapis's opinion, but that didn't mean Lapis found the prospect of _living_ with the green gem to be particularly appealing.

Honestly, the only sapient entity Lapis felt comfortable with the idea of living with at the moment was Stevonnie. It seemed a pretty obvious choice.

But there was just one problem, or rather, _three_ problems. Staying with Stevonnie would also mean staying with… the _Crystal Gems_. Three Gems that Lapis still felt rather… _uneasy_ towards, to put it lightly.

For their part, Stevonnie was likewise realizing the dilemma Lapis was facing.

Funny how they spent almost the entire previous night chatting, and yet they'd never come up with an answer to Lapis's 'not having a home' situation.

Stevonnie was still wondering how they were going to solve this when Garnet walked right up to Lapis.

"Lapis Lazuli," the taller Gem spoke with her normal stoic, even tone. To Stevonnie's experienced ear, it was clear Garnet was in 'diplomatic mode'. Unfortunately, Lapis didn't have the experience with the fusion that Stevonnie had, and it was clear from the way that the blue Gem tensed even further that Garnet's tone was _not_ putting Lapis at ease. Stevonnie was wondering if they'd have to play some kind of peace-maker when Garnet continued.

"On behalf of the Crystal Gems, I would like to apologize for what happened to you during the war."

Well that was unexpected, though by no means unwelcome. Stevonnie felt their unease fade away. It looked like they wouldn't have to play peacemaker after all. Leave it to Garnet to jump right to heart of the matter with the easiest, most straight-forward solution.

"I personally don't know the circumstances that led to you being trapped in that mirror, but it's clear that _a_ Crystal Gem was involved. In light of this, I apologize for what happened to you."

Lapis herself wasn't sure how to take this. On the one hand, the fusion _was_ making an effort to apologize, something Lapis never would have expected. And in all fairness, the Crystal Gems were only _indirectly_ involved with what happened to Lapis. While it was a Crystal Gem that poofed her, it was _Homeworld_ Gems that actually put her in the mirror.

But at the same time, the fusion's tone was so… detached, professional. Like she was only apologizing in some official capacity, not because she actually regretted what happened to Lapis.

Lapis was working on a sufficiently sarcastic reply when Garnet's tone suddenly shifted.

"Also…" Garnet trailed off, as if she was having discomfort continuing.

Then the fusion took off her visor. Now _that_ surprised Stevonnie. Garnet _never_ took her visor off around strangers.

For her part, Lapis was just trying to get used to the _three eyes_ that were looking at her. Except… they weren't. Garnet wasn't meeting Lapis's gaze. Her eyes were averted, downcast. She looked almost… _ashamed?_

"…I am… sorry for how we acted the night Steven freed you." Gone was Garnet's even and professional tone. Now she sounded… _guilty_. "We were afraid, and we acted rashly. If we hadn't acted the way we did, you might have been spared a great deal of suffering. And for that, I am truly sorry."

That last part _really_ threw Stevonnie for a loop. _What if_ the Gems hadn't acted so confrontationally with Lapis that night? Maybe Steven could have convinced Lapis not to flee? If that happened, then Lapis likely wouldn't have left for Homeworld. Maybe she wouldn't have gotten caught up in Jasper's and Peridot's attack. Maybe she wouldn't have been trapped in Malachite…

No wonder Garnet sounded so ashamed.

Lapis, for her part, was _flabbergasted_. She'd nearly forgotten all about how the Crystal Gems acted when Steven wanted to free her from the mirror. Honestly, Lapis hadn't considered that bit all that significant. After everything that already happened to her, and everything that happened afterwards; Steven, her Gem being healed, fleeing Earth and the horrors that came after, a few Crystal Gems being a bunch of clods was pretty much what she expected at that point.

And to see what was pretty much the biggest, strongest Crystal Gem here, this… Garnet, apologize so emphatically, so… _sincerely_ …

"I… Thanks, I guess…"

That was when Garnet's gaze met Lapis's.

Then she smiled.

"I imagine you're not in any hurry to actually join us as a member of the Crystal Gems, but so long as you decide to make the Earth your home, we'd be happy to help you in any way we can."

"Yeah! Totally!" Amethyst spoke up in agreement, flashing Lapis a smile and a thumbs-up, "You ever need a hand with anything, just give us a holler!" As if to illustrate her point, Amethyst's other hand suddenly shifted into a comically large version of itself to give Lapis a wave.

"Yes, of course." Pearl gave her own smile and nod towards Lapis, "Any Gem trying to get away from Homeworld is certainly welcome here on Earth."

"Yes! Excellent!" Peridot exclaimed in excitement, "We have successfully bonded with another former enemy!"

Normally, Lapis might have made a sarcastic comment about Peridot having been a 'former enemy' of the Crystal Gems herself.

But right now, Lapis was just too… _overwhelmed_.

Was this… Was this _actually happening?_ For so long, she had _despised_ the Crystal Gems, but even more than that, she'd been _terrified_ of them, of what they might do to her. Lapis had been certain that apart from Steven and now Stevonnie, _none_ of the Crystal Gems would _ever_ be anything but an enemy to her.

Yet here they were, just accepting her just like that.

And Lapis had _absolutely no idea how to deal with that._

Lapis wasn't sure how long she was just staring blankly until a hand came to rest on her shoulder.

Jolted out of her reverie, Lapis looked to her left to see Stevonnie, a bright, proud smile on their face.

Stevonnie gave Lapis a nod of encouragement, and the blue Gem was reminded of the question that'd been eating at her since last night, but had been too terrified to ask.

Until now.

Taking an uneasy breath, Lapis turned to face Garnet again.

"Th-Thank you. And… if it's alright, I'd… I'd like to stay with you guys. If that's okay!" It was just a question! Why was it so hard? And why was her face heating up again?

Garnet simply nodded, continuing to smile.

"We'd be happy to have you."

"Yeah! New roomie!" Amethyst cheered, pumping her fist in the air, "Sorry Peri, looks we'll have to be renting out the bathroom to someone else now!"

"WHAT?!" Peridot squeaked, "Oh, er… Yes, I suppose that's only fair. Considering I have my own place now."

"Uh… bath, room?" Lapis looked to Stevonnie.

"Er… long story." The Fusion scratched the back of their head awkwardly, "Don't worry, we'll get you a nice spot to stay.

* * *

"Somehow, I'm kinda doubting this spot is very nice…" Lapis drawled.

Standing next to Lapis on the rafters of the Temple house, Stevonnie very much wanted to make a comeback, but was finding it rather difficult to argue her point.

Namely, for the reason _why_ they happened to be in the rafters at the moment…

"Guys, I swear! It was a totally normal cake when I put it in the fridge!" Amethyst yelled as she was pinned to the floor by a massive malformed arm comprised of moldy dough, frosting and existential hate for all things that live emerging from house's refrigerator.

"Apologize later! Kill dessert monster now!" Garnet yelled back as the fusion wrestled with a second arm.

"What she said!" Pearl agreed as she danced around a third arm, hacking pieces off of it with her spear.

"Hey Stevonnie!" Amethyst yelled up to the rafters, "You ready to waste this thing? Or are you and Lapis still makin-GAH!" Her attempt at teasing was cut off as the arm slammed her again.

Stevonnie shook their head at Amethyst's antics before they turned to Lapis.

"So, you want to help us beat a hideous cake monster?" Stevonnie shot Lapis a grin as they steadied themself for a jump.

Lapis looked down at the three tentacle-like arms comprised of a pulsating, bulbous, green and purple substance, and the greater mass of the stuff starting to push it's was out of the refrigerator.

"…I'm not going anywhere near that."

Stevonnie shrugged before making a few more quick jumps until they were positioned directly above the refrigerator.

An eager grin split Stevonnie's face as their hand gripped the hilt of the sword on their back, the metal gleaming as it was pulled free of its scabbard.

"Overhead…"

Their feet left the rafter.

"DEATHSTRIKE!"

And with a flash of absurdly sharp pinkish steel, Stevonnie made a slice perfectly down the front of the refrigerator, cutting clean through the three malformed arms and the mass that was pushing itself out of the fridge. Of course, that still left the pulsating mass of dough, frosting and rage _inside_ the refrigerator.

Thankfully, Stevonnie had planned for this. Bringing up their left arm, they formed a massive version of their shield and slammed it against the open fridge.

"BRACE!"

Freed from the now-disintegrating monster arms, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl flashed to Stevonnie's side, bracing the shield up against the fridge to keep what was left of the monster contained inside.

"Okay, we've got it trapped," Pearl said, "…what exactly was Step 2?"

"Pbfft," Amethyst pbfft'ed, "well _obviously_ Step 2 is… uh…"

That was when all four Gems' attention was drawn to the rumbling of the sink to their right.

All of a sudden, twin jets of water shot out of the faucet and the drain. The two streams arced away from the sink and curved again towards the fridge. As the streams thickened with more water coming from their sources, they split into many smaller streams, all looping and coiling around the refrigerator.

Within seconds, the entire appliance was enveloped in a bubble of water, separating it from both the shield in front and the wall behind. But even though more water was being added, the bubble wasn't getting any bigger. The reason for this soon became apparent, as with a dull, muted 'crunch', the refrigerator was squashed into about a tenth of its original size, the twitching remnants of the monster only barely visible before it vanished in a muted 'poof'.

"…That." Amethyst finished, "Obviously _that's_ Step 2. Thanks Lapis!" the purple Gem waved up to the blue Gem still in the rafters, who in turn did her best to roll her eyes and avoid eye contact, though she still wasn't able to miss Garnet giving her a thumbs up.

A quick bubbling later and the wayward gem shard (along with the crushed fridge) had been sent off to the Burning Room while Lapis sent the water back into the pipes before floating back down to join the others, while still trying _very_ hard to not make eye contact.

"Thank you for your help Lapis," Pearl smiled, "You made that _much_ easier than it-"

"Stop. No." Lapis interrupted, holding her hand up to stop Pearl, "I only helped because it's been a long day and I wanted this over quickly. Please don't make a… _thing_ of out this."

Lapis then noticed Stevonnie looking rather disappointed. Somehow that felt… wrong.

"…Okay, fine. _Stevonnie_ can make a thing out of this. The rest of you, please… don't."

Stevonnie's face was almost instantly split by a huge grin and Lapis briefly wondered if she'd just made a _horrible_ decision.

But instead of, say, breaking out into squeals and pulling Lapis into a huge hug, Stevonnie simply gave Lapis a big smile and patted her on the shoulder.

"Thanks for the help Lapis. That was _really_ cool what you did there."

"Uh… no problem." Lapis replied with an uneasy smile of her own, not exactly sure how to take that. On the one hand, Lapis appreciated Stevonnie _not_ making a huge deal out of this, but on the other hand, she was feeling… _disappointed?_ What was up with that?

And why was her face heating up again? Seriously! What was up with that?!

For their part, the other Gems seemed to take this request very easily. Almost to a disturbing degree…

"Alright, we can do that." Pearl's response was agreeable enough, but then Amethyst spoke up with a wink.

"Sure, whatever you say Laz." Lapis _knew_ the purple Gem was insinuating _something._

And then Garnet just gave her another thumbs up. Lapis was starting to notice a trend with that.

But before Lapis could press for any kind of clarification, the three Gems had gotten to work cleaning up the kitchen from the battle.

Lapis let out a tired breath.

"So is this a _normal_ thing for you people?"

Stevonnie replied with a smile and a dismissive wave.

"Ah, don't worry. This should be the last of the crazy for tonight."

* * *

"…Yeah, we're going to be digging around in Amethyst's pile for one ourselves." Stevonnie spoke into their phone as they walked aimlessly around the beach.

"…Well, yeah, _obviously_ Amethyst has at least a few fridges in there. The trick is finding one with cooling elements she hasn't eaten yet."

Stevonnie broke out into giggles as the voice on the other end made a joke.

"Pretty much. Anyway, thanks for the help. I'll swing by the Wash tomorrow. Got a new roommate to show around Beach City."

"…Sounds good. G'night Dadiverse."

Stevonnie let out a relaxed sigh as they hung up.

Then the let out a Whoop! of joy!

It had just sunk in just how _GOOD_ they felt right now.

They'd saved the world, they'd saved Lapis, and now they were _home_. For the first time in… a _while_ , everything felt just so… _right_.

Stevonnie felt so happy they could just jump for joy!

So that's exactly what they did.

"Woohooo!" Stevonnie cheered as they leapt into the air. The feeling right now was just so euphoric, they felt just so _light_. Lighter than they'd ever felt in a… _long_ time. They felt lighter than air! They felt… they felt…

They felt kinda confused as to why they were suddenly eye-level with the Temple Statue's face.

After a double-take, Stevonnie confirmed that, yes, they were indeed level with the face of the Gem Temple Statue. And by extension…

Stevonnie glanced down.

Yep. They were also a good hundred meters off the ground.

Stevonnie glanced back to the statue, then back to the ground.

"Shouldn't I be falling no-?"

And like an avian-starved coyote, Stevonnie plummeted earthwards.

' _I just HAD to say it, didn't I?!'_

…

Though, now that they thought about it, shouldn't they have also hit the ground by now?

Stevonnie saw the ground coming up and braced themself. They felt their feet impact the sand and reflexively bent their legs to cushion the impact, ultimately assuming a classic three-point landing.

"Huh." Stevonnie spoke as they stood back up, shaking their legs out, "Figured that would hurt more." Sure, their legs stung a little and Stevonnie knew they were quite a bit tougher than the average human thanks to Steven being half Gem, but they were pretty sure a fall like that should have at least sprained something.

And come to think of it… Stevonnie was pretty sure the fall itself took a bit longer than it probably should have. And of course there was the question of how Stevonnie made it a good hundred meters into the air in the first place. Stevonnie knew they were _really_ strong, like, strong enough to bench-press Mr. Dad's van without much difficultly, but did that really translate into _that kind_ of jumping ability?

Not to mention Stevonnie was fairly certain there'd been a few seconds at the peak of their jump where they just sort of… _floated_ …

 _Wait a minute…_

A memory suddenly sprang into Stevonnie's head. That time Pearl ran off with Rose's sword and Steven chased after her. At one point Steven had tried to jump between those floating islands above the Strawberry Fields. He'd made the jump and just… floated for a little while. _Not_ leapt, _floated_. He'd been moving forward from the force of his jump, but was _not_ being pulled down by the force of gravity. At least until Pearl gave him that… _very_ scary look.

Steven hadn't given that little occurrence any thought, but now that Stevonnie thought about it…

Stevonnie bit their lip in contemplation.

They needed to experiment with this.

Glancing upwards, Stevonnie saw one of the Statue's hands. Yeah, that'd work.

Crouching down, Stevonnie assumed a jumping position, feeling powerful muscles in their legs coil up, ready to release.

Right, all of their powers, Steven's powers, were fueled by emotions. So… Happy Thoughts. Stevonnie closed their eyes, trying to recall all the feelings that'd been running through their head just a couple minutes before.

They were _home_.

They'd _saved the world!_

They'd saved _Lapis!_

They _didn't feel so bad!_

And most recently, _They might just have a new power!_

Stevonnie felt a huge grin split their face.

They felt _AWESOME!_ And more than that, Stevonnie felt the same _lightness_ they'd felt earlier too!

With a mighty shove, Stevonnie pushed against the ground with all their strength.

They felt their body leave the ground.

They felt the air rushing past their skin, the cloth of their shirt and pants rippling and flapping in the rushing air.

Stevonnie opened their eyes an-

WALL!

-and smacked right into the cliff-face.

"Okay… _Ow_." Stevonnie grumbled to themself as they started sliding down the rock face. Too much Happy Thoughts.

Craning their head back, Stevonnie could still see the giant Hand they were originally aiming for.

…No _way_ they were going to give up that easily!

Gripping the rock face harder, Stevonnie pressed their feet flat on the rock, bent their knees, awkwardly angled themself towards the hand, thought of… just _Home_ and _Lapis_ this time and _pushed_. Also keeping their eyes _open_ this time.

Even with less Happy Thoughts this time, Stevonnie still practically flew off the rock face, rocketing towards the Hand. They clearly had more than enough momentum. The trick was actually _hitting_ their target.

So far it looked good…

They were gonna make it!

They were… _not_ going to make it.

In a combination of desperation and annoyed frustration, Stevonnie shot their arm out. Just barely they were able to grab the massive outstretched finger of the Temple's hand.

With a pull, Stevonnie was able to transfer their momentum, flinging themself around the finger, landing sitting on the washing machine next to the hand's Warp Pad.

Seeing as they'd somehow managed to land in fairly relaxed pose on the machine, Stevonnie thought that little display must have looked pretty cool to anyone who might have been watching. But alas, no one was.

Having said that…

"WOHOO!" Stevonnie threw their hands up in the air. That was _awesome!_

They had Super Jumpy Floaty Powers!

 _Wait_ … Stevonnie stopped for a moment, considering what 'Jumpy' and 'Floaty' actually _meant_. Drawing on Connie's long history of science fiction novels, TV shows and general technobabble, Stevonnie considered the implications…

They could jump _really high_ , far higher than their normal strength should be capable of, and conversely, they could slow their descent without any form of thrust generation. In other words…

 _Mass and Inertial Manipulation._

Stevonnie felt a grin split their face.

Oh, now that was _cool!_

There were _so many_ fun things you could do with those!

Though now that Stevonnie thought about it… they'd gotten a good hundred meters into the air by _accident_.

Stevonnie looked up to the open sky.

Just how high _could_ they get?

* * *

Less than an hour later, Lapis was casually fluttering her wings to keep herself aloft next to Stevonnie as the latter descended at a snail's pace from about five kilometers up.

"Last of the crazy for tonight, huh?" Lapis drawled.

Stevonnie simply shrugged and flashed her a grin.

"Welcome to Beach City. We are many things, but we're sure not Boring!"

Lapis might have argued how that was good thing, but then she remembered where she'd spent most of the last five millennia.

"…Fair enough."


End file.
